John Joseph Carey (23 February 1919 – 22 August 1995) was an Irish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

and manager. As a player, Carey spent most of his career at

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, where he was team captain from 1946 until he retired as a player in 1953. He was also a dual internationalist, playing for and captaining both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. In 1947 he also captained a

Europe XI The Europe XI is an association football scratch team mainly consisting of players from the UEFA region but, on occasion, players hailing from other continents playing for European teams are invited to play. The European XI play one-off games agai ...

which played a

Great Britain XI The United Kingdom national football team is a football team that represents the United Kingdom. Despite football being the most popular sport in the country, the team has not played since 1965 as separate teams represent each home nation (Engl ...

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

. In 1949 he was voted the

Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year (often called the FWA Footballer of the Year, or in England simply the Footballer of the Year) is an annual award given to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the season in ...

and in the same year captained the FAI XI that defeated

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

2–0 at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

, becoming the first non- UK team to beat England at home. Carey was also the first non- UK player and the first Irishman to captain a winning team in both an FA Cup Final and the First Division. Like his contemporary Con Martin, Carey was an extremely versatile footballer and played in nine different positions throughout his career. He even played in goal for United on one occasion.

Early years

As a schoolboy, Carey played football for Home Farm. As a youth, he also played

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

and was selected for the Dublin county team at minor level before he signed for

St James's Gate St. James's Gate, located off the south quays of Dublin, on James's Street, was the western entrance to the city during the Middle Ages. During this time the gate was the traditional starting point for the Camino pilgrimage from Dublin to Santiag ...

at the start of the 1936–37 season. After just two months of

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

football, he was spotted by

Billy Behan William Behan (8 August 1911 – 12 November 1991) was an Irish footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Shelbourne, Shamrock Rovers and Manchester United during the 1930s. He made his Rovers debut on 8 February 1931 in a 5–1 win over B ...

, a

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

-based

scout. Behan convinced the United chief scout, Louis Rocca, to check him out and in November 1936 United signed him for a then League of Ireland record fee of £250. He made his debut as an inside-left for United on 23 September 1937 against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. During his first season with United, Carey, together with Harry Baird, Jack Rowley,

Tommy Bamford Thomas Bamford (2 November 1905 – 12 December 1967) was a Welsh professional footballer. During his career, he made over 200 appearances in the Football League, most notably for Wrexham, where he remains the club's all-time top goalscorer. He a ...

Tommy Breen Tommy Breen (27 April 1912 – 1 March 1988) was an Irish footballer who played as a goalkeeper for, among others, Belfast Celtic, Manchester United, Linfield and Shamrock Rovers. Breen was a dual international and played for both Ireland t ...

and

Stan Pearson Stanley Clare Pearson (11 January 1919 – 20 February 1997) was an English footballer. Born in Salford, Lancashire, Pearson was signed by Manchester United as an amateur in December 1935 and turned professional in May 1937. His first senior ga ...

, helped United gain promotion to the First Division.Manchester United fansite

Second World War

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Carey continued to play for

and between 1939 and 1943 he played 112 games and scored 47 goals in the wartime regional leagues. He also played as a guest for several other clubs including

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

, Everton,

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

''Soccer at War – 1939 – 45'' (2005): Jack Rollin
/ref> On 28 April 1940, Carey guested for a

League of Ireland XI The League of Ireland XI, more recently referred to as the ''Airtricity League XI'' for sponsorship reasons, is the representative team of the League of Ireland, the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. For much of its ...

against a

Scottish League XI The Scottish League XI was a representative side of the Scottish Football League. The team regularly played against the (English) Football League and other national league select teams between 1892 and 1980. For a long period the annual fixture be ...

in a 3–2 defeat at

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as D ...

. His teammates on the day included

Jimmy Dunne James Dunne (3 September 1905 – 14 November 1949) was an Irish footballer who played for, among others, Shamrock Rovers, Sheffield United, Arsenal and Southampton. Dunne was also a dual internationalist and played for both Ireland teams: th ...

Paddy Bradshaw Paddy Bradshaw (16 March 1912 –11 March 1963) was an Irish footballer who played for St James's Gate and Shelbourne in the League of Ireland. Bradshaw was something of a late bloomer, making his League of Ireland debut at the age of 26, bef ...

and

John Feenan John Joseph Feenan (1 July 1914 – October 1994) was an Irish and Northern Irish footballer who played for Belfast Celtic, Sunderland and Shelbourne. As an international he also played for Ireland. In the 1940s he served as manager of Shelb ...

. He also guested for

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

in a

game against

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

on 6 April 1941. He gave a good performance at inside left, scoring in a 5–0 win. He guested again for Rovers in April 1942 and scored twice in a 7–1 win against Shelbourne. He also played and scored again for Rovers in a

League of Ireland Shield The League of Ireland Shield ( ga, Sciath Sraithe na hÉireann) is a defunct Irish football tournament which was introduced when the League of Ireland started in 1921 and ran uninterrupted until 1972. It was played before the league season began ...

game at Milltown against

Waterford United Waterford Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Phort Láirge) formerly Waterford United Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Waterford who play in the League of Ireland First Division. The club was founded and elected to the ...

on 11 November 1945. Carey also served with the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in both Italy and the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and while in Italy, he also played part-time for several different clubs using the nickname ''Cario''. When the war ended Carey received several offers to stay on in Italy.

Return to Manchester United

On his return to

, Carey began playing as a midfielder and defender. He was also appointed team captain by

Matt Busby Sir Alexander Matthew Busby (26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager, who managed Manchester United F.C., Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 197 ...

. He captained United to victory in the

1948 FA Cup final The 1948 FA Cup Final was contested by Manchester United and Blackpool at Wembley Stadium on 24 April 1948. United, who had not appeared in an FA Cup Final for 39 years, won 4–2, with two goals from Jack Rowley and one apiece from Stan Pearson ...

and to second place in the First Division four times before eventually winning the title in 1952. His teammates at United during this era included among others, Jack Rowley,

Charlie Mitten Charles Mitten (17 January 1921 – 2 January 2002) was an English football player and manager who came through the junior ranks at Manchester United. Over his career, Mitten also played for Fulham, Mansfield Town and Altrincham in England, and ...

and John Aston. During his career with United, Carey played 304 league games, scoring 17 goals. He played a further 38 games in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

and scored one further goal. Carey also played twice for United in the

FA Charity Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...

. He also gained the distinction of being the first player from Ireland to win a major trophy with Manchester United.

Irish international

When Carey began his international career in 1937 there were, in effect, two Ireland teams, chosen by two rival associations. Both associations, the Northern Ireland-based

IFA IFA or Ifa may refer to: Organisations Economics * Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK * Index Fund Advisors * Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK * Institute of Act ...

and the Ireland-based FAI claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Ireland and selected players from the whole island. As a result, several notable Irish players from this era, including Carey played for both teams. In September 1946 Carey, along with

Bill Gorman William Charles Gorman (13 July 1911 – December 1978) was an Irish footballer who played for, among others, Bury and Brentford. Gorman was a dual internationalist who also played for both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. In Sept ...

, even played for both teams within three days of each other, both times against

. On 28 September at

Windsor Park Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Linfield F.C. who own the land the stadium is built on, while the Irish Football Association own and operate the stadium and pay Linfield an annual rent ...

he played for the IFA XI in a 7–2 defeat. Then on 30 September at

he played for the FAI XI in a 1–0 defeat.

FAI XI

Between 1937 and 1953 Carey made 29 appearances and scored 3 goals for the FAI XI, making his debut against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

on 7 November 1937 in a team that also included

and fellow debutant, Kevin O'Flanagan. The game which was a qualifier for the

1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, beat ...

finished as a 3–3 draw. He scored his first goal for the FAI XI in a 3–2 win against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

on 13 November 1938 and scored his second in the very next game, a 2–2 draw with

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

on 19 March 1939. Carey captained the XI on 19 occasions. On 21 September 1949, he was captain when an FAI XI defeated

2–0 at

, becoming the first non- UK team to beat England at home. Carey scored his third goal, a penalty, for the FAI XI in a 2–2 draw with

on 26 November 1950. He played his last game for the FAI XI on 25 March 1953 in a 4–0 win over

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

.''The Boys In Green – The FAI International Story'' (1997): Sean Ryan
/ref>

IFA XI

Carey also made 9 appearances for the IFA XI between 1946 and 1949. In 1946 he played in the

Victory International The term Victory International or Victory Internationals refers to two series of international football matches played by the national football teams of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales at the end of both the First and Second World Wars. The ...

s against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

On 27 November 1946 he played for the IFA XI in a 0–0 draw with

. Together with Peter Farrell, Con Martin,

Tommy Eglington Thomas Joseph Eglington (15 January 1923 – 18 February 2004) was an Irish footballer who played as an outside-left for, among others, Shamrock Rovers, Everton and Tranmere Rovers. Eglington was also a dual internationalist and played for bot ...

Alex Stevenson Alexander Ernest Stevenson (9 August 1912 – 2 September 1985) was an Irish footballer who played for Rangers and Everton, amongst other teams. As an international, Stevenson also played for both Ireland teams – the FAI XI and the IFA XI. ...

and

Davy Walsh David Joseph Walsh (28 April 1923 – 14 March 2016), commonly referred to as Davy Walsh or Dave Walsh, was an Irish footballer who played as a centre forward for, among others, Linfield, West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa. Walsh was a dual ...

, he was one of seven players born in the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

to play for the IFA XI that day. The draw helped the team finish as runners-up in the

1947 British Home Championship It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

Coaching career

One of Carey's earliest experiences as a coach came when he was still an active player; he took charge of the

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

team at the

1948 Olympics 1948 Olympics may refer to: *The 1948 Winter Olympics, which were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland *The 1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an internation ...

. Ireland lost 3–1 to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in the opening round in a game played at

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, England, which is the home of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park remains as the only home football ground in Portsmouth FC's entire history. The early Fratton Park was designed by local architect A ...

. Carey retired as a player in 1953 and almost immediately accepted the position as manager of Blackburn Rovers. In 1958 he guided Rovers into First Division. He then became manager at Everton but, despite leading them to fifth place in the 1960–61 season, their highest post-war position, he was sacked in the back of a taxi by director John Moores. As a result, the jibe, 'Taxi for ...!' has become a staple insult offered to any manager facing the threat of the sack. He next managed

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

and took them into the First Division in 1962, their only season in the top division. However his greatest success as a manager came with

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

. In 1967, he guided them to the

semi-finals and to second place in the First Division behind his former club Manchester United. Between 1955 and 1967 Carey also served as team manager of the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. However Carey had very little power as the team itself was chosen by a selection committee. In October 1970, Carey returned to the manager's role at Blackburn, after a spell as administrative manager. He was sacked on 7 June 1971.

Honours

Club

Manchester United

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

* First Division: 1951–52 *

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

Individual

* FWA Footballer of the Year: 1949 *

Football League 100 Legends The Football League 100 Legends is a list of 100 great association football players who played part or all of their professional career in English Football League and Premier League football. The players were selected in 1998 by a panel of journa ...

: 1998 (inducted)

References

External links

Northern Ireland's Footballing Greats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carey, Johnny 1919 births 1995 deaths Association footballers from County Dublin Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers Dual Irish international footballers Ireland (FAI) international footballers Pre-1950 IFA international footballers Dublin Gaelic footballers Gaelic footballers who switched code League of Ireland players Home Farm F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Manchester City F.C. wartime guest players Shamrock Rovers F.C. guest players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players Middlesbrough F.C. wartime guest players Liverpool F.C. wartime guest players Everton F.C. wartime guest players Cardiff City F.C. wartime guest players Republic of Ireland football managers Republic of Ireland national football team managers Blackburn Rovers F.C. managers Everton F.C. managers Leyton Orient F.C. managers Nottingham Forest F.C. managers Manchester United F.C. non-playing staff Blackburn Rovers F.C. non-playing staff British Army personnel of World War II Irish soldiers in the British Army Irish people of World War II League of Ireland XI players Irish Free State international footballers St James's Gate F.C. players Association football fullbacks Ireland (IFA) wartime international footballers FA Cup Final players